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ESRI professor defends gambling addiction study after Flutter chief criticism

Study commissioned by the newly established Gambling Regulatory Authority estimates that 1-in-30 adults in Ireland are problem gamblers

Peter Jackson, chief executive of Flutter, at the 2023 AGM of the shareholders of Flutter Entertainment at its headquarters in Belfield Office Park. Picture: Fergal Phillips

A professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has defended its findings on the level of the problem gambling in Ireland after it was questioned by the head of Paddy Power-owner Flutter Entertainment.

Professor Pete Lunn from the Behavioural Research Unit of the ESRI, told the Business Post that he stood by its published figure of 1-in-30 adults as the best estimate of problem gambling in Ireland.

Lunn said that Jackson’s criticism of ...